Tales of the Time Dragon: Racing the Waves

by Robert Neubecker

[Scholastic Reader Level 2]

Let Red the Time Dragon take you on an action-packed adventure through history in this series for beginning readers.

"Call me First Mate Red! You're aboard our clipper ship, the Flying Cloud!"

Joe and Lilly are heading back in time for another adventure with Red the Time Dragon. This time they're traveling on a famed clipper ship as it tries to break a world record for speed. Captain Perkins Creesy will sail them from New York City around the tip of South America and back up to San Francisco to deliver the ship's cargo to gold miners and settlers. Along the way, they'll meet plenty of strange sailors, one of the first female navigators, and sail through very rough waters. Will the ship make it? And will they break the world record? Only Red knows for sure!

This easy reader features special extras like maps, time lines, glossaries, and super facts that take you beyond the story and bring history to life!

Genres: Childrens, Time Travel

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 2014

About the author

Robert Neubecker is the award-winning author-illustrator of Wow! City! and Wow! Ocean! He has illustrated many other books for young readers. His work has been published by Slate, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. He lives in Park City, Utah, with his family.

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid educational but fun story about clipper ships! This book seems a bit dated when it comes to some technology but is still quite good.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe and Lilly want to research clipper ships. They use the library computer, the same computer that sent them back in time to meet Red the Time Dragon. The children find themselves in New York City in 1851. They board the clipper ship, "Flying Cloud." They set sail. Their goal? California, of course!!! They meet Perkins and Ellen Creesy, a husband and wife team who set a world's record for sailing speed in 1851.

The trip has certain challenges, of course, but not exactly the same challenges I remember from playing a certain Gold Rush game way back when.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lily and Joe zoom back in time to 1851 during which they board a clipper ship trying to set a world record for speed. The ship sailed from New York to San Francisco in 89 days. Youngsters may like the idea of the trip being aided by a time-traveling dragon named Red as well as enjoying some of the jokes about the contents of the crew's next meal--fish, always fish. The book makes history more accessible for young readers, but I wish there had been a bit more about the clippers or a smoother segue into the time travel. Still, this one will surely have kid appeal.